Herman Cain: Happy Warrior

I heard someone refer to presidential candidate Herman Cain as a "happy warrior," and that reminded me of the poem by William Wordsworth, "Character of The Happy Warrior," that begins with the following lines:

Who is the happy Warrior? Who is he
That every man in arms should wish to be?
—It is the generous Spirit, who, when brought
Among the tasks of real life, hath wrought
Upon the plan that pleased his boyish thought:
Whose high endeavours are an inward light
That makes the path before him always bright;
Who, with a natural instinct to discern
What knowledge can perform, is diligent to learn;
Abides by this resolve, and stops not there,
But makes his moral being his prime care...

(I recommend reading the entire poem; it's not that long, and the bookworm in me just loves introducing people to great writing.)

"Generous spirit," "natural instinct," "diligent to learn," "moral being"...the language certainly applies to how Herman Cain has acted on the campaign trail. The man positively glows when he's speaking to a crowd, visibly drawing energy from their cheers. Anyone lucky enough to have met him will tell you that they were impressed how "genuine" and "warm" he was. I've heard Cain described as a "real human being" (as opposed to "politician!") so many times, I've lost count.

Here's another example of Herman Cain, the Happy Warrior, interviewing with Ralph Reed, chairman of the Faith and Freedom Coalition, before their rally that kicked off CPAC Florida and Presidency 5:


YouTube | bkirkland7 | Herman Cain

You can see an obvious grin on Cain's face as he answers questions. In a particularly fun "20/20 hindsight" moment, Reed asks Cain about his strategy for the straw poll, and Cain responds:

Whenever they give me 20 minutes in front of an audience, that's like red meat, okay? I'm looking forward to it. I don't get nervous at all...

So why is this important? I mean, it's nice and all that Cain enjoys running for President and meeting people, but how is that relevant for the election?

For me, I recognize that our country faces major challenges, and I want a President who takes that seriously. But I also grew up in the era of Ronald Reagan, and I share his optimism about the strength of the American spirit and faith in the future of our country. I want a president who doesn't just love our country, but is  also optimistic about our chances to endure.

This "Happy Warrior," Herman Cain, has impressed me. If he has impressed you too, consider going to HermanCain.com and donating a few bucks before the end of the fundraising quarter at midnight tonight.

[Cross-posted at The Minority Report]